Events

National Prevention Week (NPW) is a week-long observance sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to increase public awareness of, and action around, mental and/or substance use disorders. It takes place annually in May. During this...

Unfortunately, the DEA Drug Take-Back that occurs every April has been postponed in response to the Coronavirus. We are saddened by this, as this event has always been a huge success for The Coalition in the prevention of non-medical use...

The Vernon ROCKS Coalition presented the 2018-2019 Rockville High School PRIDE survey results to the public on December 5th, 2019 at 6:30 PM at Vernon Center Middle School. Members of Real Talk discussed the school's data, focusing on annual and...

On Friday, November 15th, 2019 The Vernon ROCKS Coalition held our Annual Community Basketball Tournament. The yearly event aims to provide youth with a safe, healthy and entertaining activity on their Friday night and demonstrate that there are alternatives to...

On October 26th, 2019 the coalition partnered with Walgreen's in Rockville to participate in the National DEA Drug Take Back Day. National Take-Back Day is a safe and convenient way to dispose of unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs. This...

On September 12th, 2019 The Vernon ROCKS hosted a free Narcan and QPR Training at the Rockville Public Library. Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a prescription medication that blocks the effects of opioids (including heroin and prescription drugs) and...

Vernon ROCKS participated in this year’s National Night Out (NNO) event on the 6th of August in Vernon. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring...

On June 26, 2019 we held our Second Annual Coalition Luncheon to celebrate the coalition’s successes over the past year. In addition, Phil Bunick was awarded Vernon ROCKS Coalition Member of the Year for his hard work and dedication to...

On May 18th, we held our Second Annual Rockville ROCKS! The event allowed over 300 community members to come together, learn about prevention, and spend family time together engaging in various activities. Fifteen local organizations displayed their resources, the Vernon...

The Vernon ROCKS Coalition and Rockville Public Library partnered to present: Vaping, What You Should Know. The presentation worked to educate parents on the prevalence of teen vaping, the risks associated, and provide tips to talk to their children about...

Unfortunately, sexual minorities often face social stigma, discrimination, and other challenges like violence and harassment, not experienced by those who identify as heterosexual. These challenges mixed with other stressors lead sexual minorities to be at an increased risk for substance use. According to SAMHSA, substance use disorders affect 20 to 30% of the LGBTQIA+ population, compared to 8.4% of the general population. People who identify as gay and lesbian are more than twice as likely as those who identify as heterosexual to have a severe alcohol or tobacco use disorder. That number raises to three times as likely for people who identify as bisexual, and five times as likely for people who are unsure how to identify their sexuality (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2017). The Vernon ROCKS Coalition wants everyone to know there are supportive people, and resources to help and you are not alone. We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community. Visit our website for more information. www.vernonrocksct.org/pride-month/... See MoreSee Less